Courts Martial: Investigative Procedures

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Available information is for England and Wales from 1997 to 2004-05 and for Scotland from 1997 to 2005-06.
	
		
			 Crimes recorded by the police in which handguns1 were reported to have caused fatal injury2, 1997 to 2005-06 
			  Number of offences 
			 Year England and Wales Scotland 
			 1997 39 5 
			 1997-98 .. 5 
			 1998-993 29 0 
			 1999-00 42 0 
			 2000-01 48 2 
			 2001-024 59 0 
			 2002-035 40 0 
			 2003-046 35 0 
			 2004-057 37 1 
			 2005-068,9 .. 3 
			 .. Data not available. 
			 1 For England and Wales this refers to converted imitation handgun, reactivated handgun, converted air pistols, other handgun and unknown handgun. For Scotland this refers to pistols and revolvers. 
			 2 Fatal injuries do not include offender suicide. 
			 3 There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998 in England and Wales. 
			 4 Figures for England and Wales may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the national crime recording standard before 1 April 2002. 
			 5 The national crime recording standard was introduced on 1 April 2002 for England and Wales. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. 
			 6 Figures may have been inflated for Scotland by some police forces implementing the principles of the Scottish crime recording standard before 1 April 2004. 
			 7 The Scottish crime recording standard was introduced on 1 April 2004. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. 
			 8 Data for England and Wales for 2005-06 will be available after publication on 25 January 2007. 
			 9 In 2005-06 all Scottish forces agreed to try to identify weapons where possible. Figures should not be inflated by this.

Lord Rooker: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety publishes official waiting list/times statistics on a quarterly basis. The publication includes:
	out-patient waiting list/times, which comprise the number of patients waiting for their first out-patient appointment with a consultant, or a member of the consultant's team (or a locum in place for a member of the consultant's team); and in-patient waiting list/times, which comprise the number of patients waiting for ordinary admission or daycase admission to hospital.
	There are two distinct reporting systems in place for in-patient and out-patient waiting lists/times. Separate electronic reports providing the numbers of people waiting for in-patient admission and out-patient assessment are downloaded from patient administration systems (PAS) in each hospital by trust information staff. These provide information on the number of patients waiting for in-patient/daycase procedure and first out-patient assessment, together with an indication of how many months the patient has been waiting (in timebands) for each specialty. Validation checks are undertaken by these staff and information is then submitted to the Information and Analysis Directorate (IAD) in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, where a further series of stringent validation procedures are undertaken prior to publication.
	The quarterly waiting list/times bulletin is a National Statistics publication governed by the National Statistics code of practice and its associated protocols. The code and protocols require that procedures are in place to produce statistics that are relevant, have integrity, are of good quality and are accessible to the user. They are produced in the interests of all citizens by protecting confidentiality and balancing the needs of users and the burden on providers; they are also free from political interference.
	The official waiting list bulletin is available at the DHSSPS website via the following link: www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-pubs/stats-hospital_community_statistics.htm#waitinglists. Copies are also available in the Library. Official waiting list/times statistics for the quarter ending 31 December 2006 are due to be published on Thursday 1 March 2007.